The Stray Cat
by GraphiteHeron
Summary: Certain laws of fate decree that creatures such as cats and dogs may never cross the boundaries between them. As it turns out, Neji's not the only one thumbing his nose at destiny.[HIATUS]
1. A Story of Leaf and Star

**The Stray Cat**

**A Story of Leaf and Star**

Kiba was with Akamaru in the forested area just outside of the walls of Konoha. He was sitting still and thinking, two things his friends seemed to think him incapable of doing, at least simultaneously. Kiba, now twenty, was fully capable of serene contemplation, especially when it concerned his love life or lack thereof. Man, even _Shino_ had a fiancé now, despite being a creepy bug hive.

Many crashings through the underbrush had Kiba and his large canine companion instantly on the alert and ready to fight. A fiery colored cat, nearly Akamaru's size, leapt out of the bushes first, followed by a kunoichi in a ceramic cat mask, followed by eight murderous looking shinobi. Kiba's first thought was that the kunoichi was leading an attack on Konoha, but those notions were dispelled fairly quickly. After all, if the attack was meant for Konoha, why would all of the shinobi surround the kunoichi and commence attacking her when the only person in the crowd _not_ wearing a three pointed star on their headband was Kiba?

The odds were eight to one. Eight men attacking one woman, no less, and though usually Kiba would have made bets on the kunoichi going down first, this particular kunoichi was changing his mind. Forget helping her out, he didn't have time to, as she and her huge feline did away with their eight attackers with minimal effort.

Abruptly, Kiba found that the fight had come to a close and the masked kunoichi's custom claws were at his throat. A brief glance to his side showed that Akamaru was already subdued by the cat.

"Uh, hi," said Kiba, doing his best not to look the strange kunoichi in the eyes. After all, looking someone from his clan in the eyes was generally construed as a challenge for dominance, and this was definitely not the time to be inadvertently picking a fight. "I was gonna help you out, but you seemed to have it all under control."

"How gentlemanly of you," the kunoichi replied, amusement brimming in her dark, melodious voice. To Kiba's sensitive ears, her voice was as smooth and alluring as a midnight new moon, tempting him to discover the mysteries that lie beyond and eliciting a shiver up his spine. The kunoichi took off her ceramic mask and shook out waves of deep, deep violet hair, a silken waterfall of plum wine cascading just past her shoulders, and Kiba figured that if ever there was a time or a place for one of Lee's 'vision of beauty' speeches, it would be in the here and now. "The name's Neko," the kunoichi continued. "Mayotta Neko. You?"

"I-Inuzuka Kiba," the Konoha shinobi stammered, almost forgetting how to speak. At his dog's indignant snort, he added, "Oh, and my friend's Akamaru. Don't worry, he won't hurt you if you don't give him a reason to."

"Tomoru, you may release Akamaru," Neko said, and though it was phrased as a request, it was clearly an order. Neko commanded respect without asking, and to say that Kiba was impressed would have been an understatement. The feline, Tomoru, relinquished her hold on Akamaru and stepped back warily. Considering Akamaru's relative size and the ease with which he had been restrained – by a cat no less – Kiba was rather glad that Neko and Tomoru seemed peaceful enough. It had been disconcerting to watch eight very obviously skilled and highly trained shinobi get so easily dispatched by a lone woman and her cat, barring the fact that Tomoru was only slightly smaller than Akamaru.

Being from Clan Inuzuka and a world where men were generally stronger and more devoted to fighting than women, it was safe to say that Kiba had acquired just a touch of a bias against women and cats. Well, not so much women as cats, really. He knew women could be strong – see Tenten, Sakura, Hinata, Hanabi, Hana, Ino, etc… - but not so strong when outnumbered eight to one. And he refused to believe that that cat could have beaten…anything.

Kiba, caught up in his thoughts that hovered between noticing that Neko was a very attractive woman and disbelief that Tomoru could have half of the shinobi skill of Akamaru, had completely forgotten to ask Neko what she and Tomoru were doing in Konoha in the first place. After mentally smacking himself, Kiba put the question to his aristocratic guest.

"Have you ever heard of the Hidden Village of Stars, Hoshigakure?" Neko asked him in lieu of an actual answer. Kiba shook his head, hoping that the odd question led up to an explanation. To his fortune, it did. "It's my native village. It's a place where corrupt power-hungry politicians reign supreme, really. You've never heard of it, and that doesn't surprise me. Hoshi tends to lay low and not attract attention to itself until there's an alliance to betray and big, powerful countries to overthrow. I got sick of it and left, and now they're hunting me down before I betray all of their precious secrets to Konoha."

Ah, so that was why Neko abandoned her village, and it also nicely explained why her own kinsmen were tracking her. Did Kiba trust this answer? Not really, no. Contrary to popular belief, Kiba wouldn't just roll over because Neko was a pretty woman. Would he give Neko a chance? Yes, actually. He didn't believe so much in second chances, but everyone needed a first chance. As to verifying the truth in what Neko was saying, he knew of several people that had an uncanny ability to peel the truth out of anyone. One of whom being his ANBU captain, Hyuga Neji. But, before 'introducing' Neko to Neji for a 'friendly conversation', Kiba was going to play the clueless doggy act a little longer.

"Perhaps you would allow me to escort you on a tour around the lovely village of Konoha?" offered Kiba, hoping that the refined dialogue would pass as a man trying to impress a woman and not as a shinobi luring a kunoichi into what could be a mind scarring confrontation.

"Why, that sounds just lovely, Kiba," Neko answered, and Kiba suddenly understood how Hinata felt around Naruto. Despite his suspicions and purely professional intensions, Kiba felt too warm and lightheaded, and almost like he was going to faint. He also almost missed Neko's next statement. "But, Kiba, don't you have to take me to a higher authority to have my story verified?"

Ah, Neko wasn't stupid. He'd forgotten that little detail in his plan to 'lure the unsuspecting foreign kunoichi to interrogation'.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot I'd have to take you to Captain Hyuga," Kiba replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "If you don't mind, then I guess we should go. Don't worry, Captain's a real sweet guy. I'm sure he'll let you off the hook real quick." Sure it was a lie, but it would be easier if he had the element of surprise in hand.

"I'm sorry," Neko said as Kiba led her through the gates of the village. Akamaru and Tomoru trailed behind. "Did you just put the words 'Hyuga' and 'sweet' in the same sentence? Pardon if I can hardly believe that."

Neko: 2 Kiba:0

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking of his cousin. No, no, Hinata is a sweetheart. Neji, well, he's nice enough…to certain people…" Certain people meant his cousin and his wife. No one else was allowed the privilege of having Neji be nice to them, and even the privileged ones could hardly call him 'nice'. Once again, he was going for the element of surprise here. It was still clear that whoever had filled Neko's gene pool had not sacrificed her intellect when they made her beautiful beyond all reason. She was still giving him dubious looks, looks that said, 'I don't believe you but I'll play along'.

They found Neji in the training room down the hall from his office. He was meditating, apparently recuperating from a sparring match with his wife Tenten, if the scattered weapons all over the room were any indication.

"Oi Captain, got a minute?" Kiba called to Neji through the doorway. "We've got a visitor from a place called Hoshigakure, needs a talking to and then maybe a pass to see the Hokage."

"Why did you come to me?" Neji replied, answering with another question. The chill in his voice was unmistakable, but Kiba had grown somewhat used to it. The degree of frost was fairly low, only enough to drop the temperature in the room a few degrees. It was when Neji's voice became cold enough to freeze acid that Kiba knew he should worry.

"Uh, sir? You're my next in command. I have to come to you," Kiba answered, knowing that Neji knew the answer before he asked the question. But, Neji did like to know that his subordinates knew what they were doing. "Besides, you're one of the best when it comes to verifying if someone's telling the truth or not."

"Why not Ibiki or Kaome?"

Okay, Kiba was getting annoyed now. Why was Neji testing him in front of a potential enemy? Questioning his logic? Challenging him, and not even looking him in the eye? Kiba told himself to cool down, because losing his temper could earn him a sparring match with Neji, and the only person who seemed to enjoy getting hurt like that was Tenten. Besides, Neji didn't have to look him in the eye to see him or exert dominance.

"Captain, Ibiki is out of town and so is Kaome. Besides, we don't need someone to torture Neko, as Neko could very well be telling the truth and be coming in peace."

"Oh, Neji, give the poor guy a break," sighed a tired and exasperated female voice from the other side of the room. Tenten looked up from the weapons she was polishing to glare at her husband. "Kiba, just bring your new friend in here while I beat some sense into Neji."

"That won't be necessary," Neji interjected, noting that Tenten's glare had turned murderous. At her present state of being, he knew she was fully capable of beating him into next week. He was fatigued, and she was a temperamental pregnant woman. Even Neji knew when not to push his limits. He turned to Neko, and gave her a relatively low-intensity glare that could also be interpreted as a speculative stare. "Explain," was all he had to say. Neko related her entire story, slightly more extensive than the briefing she'd previously given Kiba, and Neji's white eyes pinned down her every movement, daring her to lie and promising pain if he caught her at it.

Unlike most people, Neko seemed un-intimidated. She met Neji's gaze full on with her pale lavender eyes, daring him to call her a liar. Neji's glare got deeper, and Neko stood taller and prouder, more confident in her stance. She had correctly interpreted Neji's annoyance as being his inability to call her a liar and be honest about it.

"Quite a story," Tenten remarked when Neko finished. One hand rested lightly over her still-flat abdomen, the other tossed and caught a kunai lazily. "So, you turned out to be the one kunoichi with morals, and they couldn't take it, huh? Good for you."

"It is an honor to be complimented by the famous Falcon of Konoha," Neko replied. At Tenten's look of surprise at the title, Neko grinned. "You are Tenten, I presume? You have earned the name 'Falcon' in the Hoshi bingo books for your incredible attack speed, ranged skill, and ability to stoop out of nowhere onto your enemies. Many Hoshi shinobi have attempted to copy your style because they respect it."

"That's new," spoke Kiba, forgotten where he stood. "Around here, she's always been just Tenten, a trusted friend and valuable comrade, but not idolized."

"That's because I'm ordinary," Tenten snorted. "On my old genin team, I was the mediating lump between the genius and the dropout. Now, I'm just a lump who happens to like pointy objects and likes to throw sharp things. Which I still need to clean up…"

Neji was on his feet in a flash, collecting the weapons that lay scattered around the room before gently handing them over to their rightful owner. Kiba restrained a howl of laughter; he'd never thought he'd see the day when Hyuga Neji was at someone's beck and call, playing the sweet, loving husband role. Kiba had to bite his lower lip until he tasted blood to keep from giving away his amusement at Neji's situation. The older man was still quite dangerous after all.

"At any rate," Neji snapped gruffly, and now Kiba knew he had to worry. There was that cold-enough-to-freeze-fire tone of voice that spoke of Neji's annoyance and served as the meter reading how close Neji was to snapping the head off of his nearest potential victim. Kiba realized that that potential victim was him, and decided to tread a touch more carefully. "At any rate," Neji continued, calmer now. A stranger would say he'd been calm in the first place, but people who knew him knew better. "Neko, I would recommend you go to the Hokage and speak with her. Tsunade can give you a more extensive briefing on your options. I find no fault in your tale."

Recognizing it as a dismissal, Neko bowed to Tenten, Kiba saluted Neji, and then both left. Kiba waited until they were a safe distance down the hall before speaking. "Eh, no hard feelings, right?"

"Why should there be? I recognize professional requirements when I see them," Neko answered coolly. Not a distant or annoyed cool, but a professionally disinterested cool that sent a sinking feeling into the pit of Kiba's stomach for some reason. Ah, the 'disinterested' part would be the reason for his light despair.

"Oh, sorry I had to lie to you earlier. It's just that it's easier to get a candid answer from someone when they're off guard. Seeing as my attempt was tactless and probably offensive, as it may have looked like I was insulting your intelligence, I formally apologize."

Neko smirked at him, knowing that the sophisticated words were a pair of gloves that fit too tight and a pair of shoes that fit too loose. She could read Kiba's type. He was the open, honest, _candid_ type, who generally put little to no stock by formal words despite being respectful and intelligent. He was the boisterous type with nothing to hide except perhaps power on the battlefield, but that was a generic trait amongst shinobi globally there.

"You know, if you're going to try to trick a girl into interrogation, the least you can do is buy her dinner afterwards," Neko purred, her half-lidded eyes transmitting very suggestive signals towards Kiba, who lightly blushed while grinning and nodding. Neko took in his appearance then, scruffy brown hair, reddish facial markings and all. People would say he wasn't her type right off the bat, with his rough edges to her clear-cut lines, his mountain-man tendencies to her aristocratic upbringing, his brute strength to her savvy, but Neko wanted to see for herself. There was an old saying, something about books and covers…and judges…or something like that

So the Ichiraku Ramen Stand was a bit of a surprise to Neko when Kiba took her there. Not that Neko was disappointed in the least. The Ichiraku made excellent ramen, and there was the ever-appreciated service with a smile that made for incentive for Neko to leave bigger tips.

"So, welcome to Konoha. We'll be seeing the Hokage after this, so enjoy your food while you can," Kiba announced when they were halfway through their food.

"What do you mean? Is the Hokage especially dangerous to outsiders?" Neko asked, curious as to why this meal might just be her last.

"No, no, nothing like that. But if she's in the state I think she's in, when you see her you'll die laughing," Kiba replied, smirking.

"And this is the village leader we're talking about?"

"Oh, she's up and at 'em when she needs to be, and she's like the inventor of the medic-nin, so, we really don't complain much," Kiba chuckled, amused at the alarmed expression on Neko's face. "Just don't gamble with her or Konoha will be in debt for years. There's a reason she's called the 'Legendary Sucker'."

"Tsunade is the Hokage still? Wow, the grapevine up in Hoshi's out of date," Neko murmured. "It was said that someone had taken over and let her retire."

"Oh, that's next year," Kiba snorted. "Your grapevine's not out of date, it's a whole year ahead of its time. But the next guy, I'm pretty sure he's just a seat warmer for Naruto. Naruto's the unpredictable master of surprises, that's for sure. From the academy to our chunin years, he was always saying he was going to be the Hokage someday, but now that it's within his grasp, he's delaying."

"With age comes wisdom," Neko said as she took a piece of shrimp in her chopsticks and fed it to Tomoru, who took it daintily. "Hokage is probably still his dream, but he realizes just how much responsibility comes with being the protector of an entire country, and he's probably just making sure he's definitely ready for it without question."

"I'd agree with you, except that this is Uzumaki we're talking about. Then again, he might have grown a brain since the last time we had an actual conversation. Speaking of Naruto, if you'd like to meet him, he's two seats to your left, behind the nineteen empty bowls. Blonde hair, orange jacket, you can't miss him," Kiba described, nodding his head towards the origination of many slurping sounds.

Curious as, well, as a cat, Neko stood from her mostly empty dish and carefully stepped over Tomoru to take a look at this Naruto person Kiba was telling her about. Sure enough, behind the mountain of emptied bowls sat a blonde man, about Kiba's age, working in on what looked to be his twenty third bowl.

"Hi," Naruto said between mouthfuls. "I haven't seen you before."

"Oh, I'm new here," Neko replied. "My friend tells me you plan to be Hokage someday."

"I am going to be Hokage someday. Believe it! I just want to make sure I know what I'm doing first," Naruto explained, grinning sheepishly at her before returning to inhaling his food.

"Ah, I see. Good day," Neko said, and then returned to her seat beside Kiba. "Oh, he's going to be Hokage someday, believe it, he just wants to make sure he knows what he's doing first."

"No need to rub it in," Kiba growled, polishing off the rest of his bowl of beef ramen.

"On the contrary, I have to rub it in," Neko smirked. "It is the nature of a feline to rub their opponent's nose into a loss, and gloat over a victory." She gulped the last of the broth to her shrimp ramen, stretched, and stood. "But I suppose we should be seeing the Hokage now."

**Author's Note: Yes, a romance between Kiba and an original character. BloodHeron hopes you enjoy, and if you don't, you're perfectly welcome to flame, or merely display your displeasure via reviews or the emails links in BloodHeron's profile. BloodHeron's first attempt at a multi-chapter posting, so, she has no idea what she's doing. Please bear with her. She may update on a regular basis when she figures out what she's doing, but until then, updates will be when they are. Despite Neko's seeming perfection now, you'll find she has more flaws later on, she just hasn't shown them yet. Neko's character is initially based off of BloodHeron's aunt, who is rather annoyingly perfect and flawless when you first get to know her, and even when you get to know her. Don't get BloodHeron wrong, her aunt is very nice, it's just that BloodHeron has a touch of an inferiority complex.**


	2. A Story of Love, Lies, and Betrayal

**The Stray Cat**

**A Story of Love, Lies, and Betrayal.**

"I really don't have time for this," Tsunade complained as she was rudely awakened from her midday nap by Neko and Kiba.

"But you have time to sleep on your desk?" Neko inquired politely, her head cocked to one side in a hidden display of arrogance.

"Who're you?" the Godaime demanded, scowling at the kunoichi that was obviously from a hostile village. Neko smirked, also politely, strangely enough, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, mindful of her metal claws that were still clipped to her fingertips.

"Mayotta Neko," the kunoichi replied, "and it is an honor to meet you, Lady Hokage. I have heard much of how you kept Fire Country together even after Orochimaru's betrayal and all of the misfortune that followed."

Kiba restrained a snort. It was just like a cat to know exactly what to say to flatter someone's ego, and Neko had just completely endeared herself to Tsunade. Kiba also suspected that Neji and Tenten had some semblance of respect for her now as well, and Naruto. Damn, but Neko was good at neutralizing any problems anyone might have with her being in Konoha. If this kept up, everyone was going to love her immediately. Which was only a problem if she was a good enough liar to get past Neji and his inherent mistrust of anyone and anything unfamiliar.

"Why have you come here?" Tsunade asked, and Kiba figured Neko was getting pretty tired of answering that question by now, but the cat woman just smiled and answered with the utmost respect.

"I wish to live here instead of Hoshigakure, if that suits your needs," Neko answered, making sure to let Tsunade know that the whole situation rested on whether or not she found it convenient to let Neko stay in Leaf Village.

"Why don't we just see what you can do first?" suggested Tsunade, though it was more of an order than anything. Neko smirked again, though this time, there was more feral intent than politeness in it.

"You mean, how do I handle myself in a fight, then? Sounds like fun. Let's have ten of your best face off against me wherever you think a fight is most convenient," Neko agreed, Tomoru purring as she rubbed against Neko's leg.

"Why ten?" Tsunade wondered out loud.

Kiba really did snort this time, arching an eyebrow in Tsunade's direction. "Have you seen her against eight ANBU level jonin from her own village? They're right outside if you'd like to see their corpses."

"What haven't you been telling me?" Tsunade snarled, startled by the mention of corpses on a mere immigration request.

"Oh, she's a missing-nin from Hoshi because she'd rather not kill innocents for power," Kiba replied, with just enough sarcasm to let Tsunade know that the scale could tip either way. "Her fellows were trying to kill her when we met."

Tsunade pinned Neko with a glare that almost – but not quite – matched Neji's level of intensity. The older woman smirked, really wanting to see the cat lady in action now.

The arena was usually only used for events such as the chunin exams and some such, but currently gathered there were several assorted shinobi and kunoichi, eleven to be exact. Neji, Kiba, Naruto, Lee, Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Shino, and Sasuke were there to test Neko. Neko had requested ten of the best, of course, and had gotten them. Against odds like this, Neko knew it was fairly certain she'd lose, but she was going to prove just how difficult it was to take her down first.

Kiba couldn't help but think that Neko might just be like that Kaome woman that Kakashi had married. She might look all fine and sane on the outside, but there was an underlying streak of total mental instability underneath. Then again, Kaome's special brand of instability had saved her life on at least a hundred occasions, and that didn't stop her from being a perfectly functional human being, except on the occasions Kaome had injured herself and didn't notice that it was serious. Neko on the other hand…what if she wasn't crazy? What if she really was good enough to take down all ten of Konoha's finest from this age group?

The Inuzuka didn't have much more time for thought as the fight started without preamble. Neko had basically started off by blindsiding Shikamaru, using simple heat waves on the ground to her advantage. Damn if summer in Konoha wasn't hotter than hell, and the shimmering mirages on the ground were the perfect illusion that couldn't be dispelled with a simple hand sign.

Speaking of illusions and mirages, did Neko actually have a tail? No, no, it was a brace of shuriken tied on wire, and as she whirled around, that 'tail' cut into anyone that was too close to her, which Kiba learned the hard way when trying to exercise taijutsu on her. Lee was even worse off, though none of his cuts were serious. Neko wasn't trying to kill them at all, just make them temporarily incapable of fighting.

Normally, most people couldn't win against one person from Clan Hyuga, let alone two. Neko was cornered between Neji and Hinata, who were both aiming to close her chakra points. She avoided it by simply redirecting their attacks until she had an opening to kick Neji square in the jaw and sweep Hinata's legs out from under her in the same, fluid motion.

Kiba rushed to pry Tomoru off of Akamaru, but the cat pinned him down too. Kiba and Akamaru both had a set of sharp claws at their throats, and they both knew that if they moved even slightly, they'd slit their own throats. How humiliating…

Growling his annoyance, Kiba watched as Sasuke and Naruto attempted to hit Neko with their most powerful ninjutsu attacks, and failed miserably just as Sakura failed to hit Neko with that monster punch she had. Then Neko found herself surrounded by Shino's kikaichu swarm, and it seemed like the feline kunoichi was finally going to lose. She was almost out of reach of the chakra eating bugs when she hit a wall, and instead of swamping her, they just sat there, watching her. Neko wondered why until she saw Ino performing the hand signs to the Yamanaka Clan possession technique that Neko had witnessed before. She moved just in time as Ino collapsed, but her movement caused her to be swamped by the swarm of little black insects that drained her of her chakra. When Neko seemed weakened enough, Shino called his insects back, and prepared to fight Neko hand-to-hand.

Neko wasn't ready to go down yet, though, as she hissed and hurled herself at Shino, catching him off guard with just how much fight she had left in her. When she deemed Shino properly covered in scratches – from claws coated in sedatives no less – she turned her attention back to Naruto, who was the only one who hadn't been knocked down for the rest of the fight.

"You're tough," Naruto told her cheerfully as he dusted some dirt off of his orange jacket. "But I'm tougher."

"I don't doubt that," Neko replied with equal friendliness. "I just want to see how well I do before I go down. Everyone else's attacks have taken their toll on me so far, so let's see how much longer I last."

"By the way, what did you do to everyone else?" Naruto asked, eyeing his comrades who were all either out cold or insensibly groggy.

"Tranquilizers, really, that's all," Neko smirked. "My purpose here is not to kill, but to be tested. Let's just say they'd be dead if I used poison. Now, are you going to attack me or what, Future Hokage?"

Naruto grinned, a very fox-like expression, and charged with another Rasengan at the ready. The swirling ball of chakra had great destructive powers, which Neko didn't want to experience. She dodged quickly, skimming Naruto with her claws and shuriken tail, which were both coated in sedatives, but after using them on nine other people, she didn't know how much was left and useable. She also didn't know just how much resistance to sedatives that demon fox gave to Naruto, and the cuts she gave him were healing already. All she could do now was dodge until she ran out of energy.

Or so she thought. She hadn't counted on Shikamaru getting up so soon, and therefore hadn't counted on the Nara Clan shadow technique that rooted her to her position, unmoving. The jutsu was only released when it was too late for her to dodge Naruto's fist.

Kiba watched as Neko flew through the air and skidded across the packed dirt of the arena floor. Her story ended the same as everyone else's around their age group: in the end, she'd lost to Naruto of all people. Neji, Sasuke, and himself had suffered the same fate.

"Oi, Tomoru," Kiba growled. "Fight's over. You lose."

The cat snarled, but let him and Akamaru go with only pinpricks in their throats to show for the claws that had restrained them.

Tsunade was clapping from her vantage point in the sidelines, impressed by the display, and of course, grateful for the break from paperwork. Neko had managed to subdue nine very talented shinobi without injuring them badly, and had only been beaten by Naruto, who had a thing for surprise victories anyway. Not only that, but she had taken out _Neji_ of all people. Now that took talent, and the fact that Neko did it without killing anyone earned her major points in Tsunade's good book. Not only that, but Tsunade had been betting again, against Neji and Sasuke, and she'd won for once. She'd exact her payment later.

"Very good, very good, you are indeed talented, Neko," the Hokage told the kunoichi that was struggling to rise. "And I won the gamble I had going on your skill! Since your story checks out and you seem to be quite good at what you do, I think there's a probationary position in ANBU available, if you wish to take it." Neko read 'take the position or leave the village' in that little dialogue. It was the perfect place for professionals to keep an eye on her, dammit, and have her skills benefit Konoha. Tsunade was clever, that was for sure.

"Fine, fine, sounds great," Neko answered cheerfully, dragging herself to her feet. Too late she saw that the little claws she had clipped to her fingertips had embedded themselves in her palms when she'd landed from Naruto's attack. She'd hit herself with her own sedatives. Upon realizing this, she promptly collapsed again, unconscious.

Kiba was feeling rather woozy, and hadn't gotten up even after Tomoru had released him. Everyone else seemed to be suffering the same, except Naruto, but that was the expected outcome. He was vaguely surprised that Neko had taken down Neji and made it look easy, but then again, under any other circumstances, Neji probably would have beaten her. The problem was, Tenten hadn't been in the fight, and without Tenten, Neji was…just a bit off. But Tenten was pregnant, and while she could use her husband as target practice, fighting was out of the question.

Besides, even geniuses weren't immune to tranquilizers. Apparently, neither was the woman that had created them. Kiba snorted, bemused, when he struggled to a sitting position and saw Neko passed out with her own claw marks in her hands. For all of her seeming perfection, apparently, even the mighty Mayotta Neko screwed up every now and then.

"Damn, she's troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he tried to clear his head by shaking it. Not a good idea, as he turned vaguely green and had to sit down again. "She's talented though, I'll give her that much. Used the surroundings to her advantage and gave us all hell before she went down."

"Feh, cats are always full of tricks," Kiba scoffed, rubbing his sore throat. Tomoru hissed and swiped at him with her deadly claws, as though in understanding of his insult. Then again, Tomoru was probably just as literate in speaking, or at least understanding, human as Akamaru was.

"_Cat or no, very pretty,"_ Akamaru remarked, though only Kiba could understand what the huge hound was saying. The dog was currently staring openly at the burning colors of sunrise that Tomoru was patterned with. Akamaru wasn't colorblind any more than Kiba was, and was fully capable of appreciating art, even if said art was fur on a cat.

"_Shut up," _Kiba growled back, so that only Akamaru would understand. _"Us dogs, them cats. There's a really big difference there buddy, and don't you forget it. We're natural enemies, so don't get too comfortable."_

"_Still pretty,"_ Akamaru muttered, more to have the last word than anything. He didn't like losing an argument, especially not to Kiba. Give the poor dog a break, _nobody_ likes losing a fight, even to their best friend.

Sakura and Hinata quickly healed themselves up once they regained their sensibilities, and then set to work on giving everyone else a dose of the anti-sedative. Hinata probably would have felt bad about losing, except that Neji had lost even harder and faster. Well, the guy never did anything by halves, that was for sure. On the few occasions he did lose, he did so spectacularly, and not in the sarcastic sense of the phrase.

Neko woke up within fifteen minutes of knocking herself out, having probably done this several times and built up some resistance to the drugs she painted her weapons with. When Sasuke demanded to know why she used sedatives instead of poison, she archly replied that she'd like to see him pry answers out of a dead guy. Sleep could be fixed. Dead, however, could not, no matter what Orochimaru said. When various people demanded to know why the hell she'd run away from her village with talent like hers, she replied that it wasn't talent that mattered so much as application. Leaving everyone to attempt figuring out her cryptic reply, she marched over to Kiba, linked arms with him, and politely requested to know where she'd be living.

"Not with me," was Kiba's first reply. Neko chuckled elegantly, smirked, and continued to listen in the case that he gave her a more complete answer. Funny how a cat could make one feel as though one was either the only person in the world, or simply a nonentity that didn't exist. It was one of the reasons Kiba had never really liked cats. "Look, I'm sure we can find you an affordable apartment somewhere around here, okay? Now get off my arm." Really, having an attractive woman hanging on him was rather embarrassing, and Kiba didn't want people getting ideas. Especially people like Ino, who, despite being reliable friends, never shut up when the gossip mill got going.

"Don't worry about price dear, I'm the last of a hard-working, well-paid family that happened to bring her money with her. My first stop should actually be a bank of some sort," Neko purred, which had the effect of annoying Kiba as much as it thrilled him. Damn that voice of hers! Neko was a freaking siren! Of course, Kiba forced himself to remember, sirens used their voices to lure sailors to their deaths. He was not going to be one of those sailors.

**Author's Note: Yes, a short chapter. BloodHeron just ran out of steam, will be getting to actual interesting parts later. Still figuring the workings of the relationship between Neko and Kiba, as BloodHeron has a tendency to get ahead of herself and plan the end before the middle of a story. BloodHeron is the first to admit that BloodHeron is an idiot sometimes. If you have any suggestions, BloodHeron will read them eagerly, as she is perfectly willing to incorporate other people's ideas into her story if they offer those ideas to her, and will even thank the idea giver in an author's note if their idea is used. If you do choose to review, please tell BloodHeron what she's doing right as well as what she is doing wrong so that she may make reading her fiction enjoyable to all who click on the story link. Reviewing is optional. BloodHeron is not going to threaten not to update if she doesn't get reviews. Updates are controlled by sheer inspiration, not by time intervals. She will update when she's ready, so please don't complain on that front. Now, before the note becomes longer than the story, BloodHeron bids ye fair eve, or fair morn, fair…whenever you happen to be reading this. **


	3. A Story of Meaningful Humiliations

**The Stray Cat**

**A Story of Meaningful Humiliations**

**Author's Note: BloodHeron is aware that she forgot to disclaim rights to all non-original characters before, so she is remedying the situation and disclaiming right now. If the character is familiar in the anime/manga, BloodHeron doesn't own them. Oh, and for the most part, the chapter subheadings have nothing to do with the chapters. This one does, though. Remember Tsunade gambling with Neji and Sasuke last chapter and winning? You know, regarding Neko's skill as a kunoichi? Well, 'Meaningful Humiliation' comes to fruition now, as Tsunade exacts her payment, and it ain't money she's after. And, please tell BloodHeron what you think of Neko. BloodHeron had fun creating her, and still has fun tormenting poor Kiba (but Heron loves Kiba, really, such a fun character). A reviewer named ANBUKaida mentioned that Neko seemed a bit much like a Mary-Sue. Truth be told, Neko is an uncut gem, and BloodHeron will be chipping away at her flaws a little at a time, exposing her inner complexity and imperfection, so if she's still a Mary-Sue when her past is dredged up, BloodHeron apologizes profusely and blames the fact that she's reaching forward blindly. She has only the slightest grasp of exactly what all a Mary Sue is, except to say that it's a someone that's just a little too perfect. That's what Neko wants people to think about her anyway, and remember, she does have some basis in one of BloodHeron's relatives. Anyway, before the author's note becomes altogether too long, which it already is, let us commence with the story. And if anyone has any ideas as to the real crime Neko should be hunted for, as in by her own village, why she really left, do tell. Yeah, Neko's a good enough liar to get past Neji and Tsunade and Kiba. Hello, she's a cat for crying out loud.**

"So tell me," Kiba muttered as he helped Neko go looking for somewhere to live. "Where all did you learn to fight so many opponents at the same time, not to mention opponents that are clearly stronger than you are?"

"Up in Hoshi," Neko replied lightly, as if commenting on the weather. "I've only ever fought multiple opponents, the more the merrier."

Something clicked in Kiba's head. Neko had just told him, basically, that she'd spent her whole life training to fight outnumbered and outclassed. That would mean that her one-on-one skills had suffered, if she'd ever developed them. He smirked, wanting to see just how she did on a one-on-one match with, oh, say, Neji, who was itching for a rematch and wanted to restore his pride to its former state of glory. "You know, Neko, since you've been assigned to ANBU, and in my squad no less, you should really try sparring with Captain Hyuga. I'm sure he'd love to get a more in-depth look at your abilities."

Neko read into that that Captain Hyuga would like nothing more than to beat the crap out of her and call it training. Fortunately, she knew of a temporary reprieve from that, though if she did spar with Neji afterwards, he would most likely kill her. "That'll have to wait until tomorrow, I think," she breezed, shrugging. "Tsunade slipped me a note, telling me all about the gamble she made on my abilities against Sasuke and Neji. Apparently she won, and she's having them sing publicly as punishment."

Kiba suddenly tripped over something in his path and fell on his face, sputtering. "W-whoa, you can't be talking about the same guys here, not the Sasuke and Neji I know. They've got too much ego to do that."

"Apparently, they also said, quote, "We'll bet you anything" to Tsunade, and she took anything to mean pride. Everyone is to meet back in the arena today, actually, in about three hours, to hear two prestigious and completely unwilling ANBU captain geniuses sing karaoke. A duet actually," Neko continued, somehow managing a straight face. Kiba found this suspicious, as there was no one he knew could say that with a straight face. Just little details, but Kiba found himself trusting Neko ever less. Not that he'd let her know that intentionally. His attempts at surprise had been noted and thrown in his face before, but that didn't mean that Neko would have to know that Kiba was plotting her assassination should she prove to be a real siren, as in the lure to a trap.

A lawyer, that's what Neko resembled. Her charm, ability to manipulate most everyone, her skill at putting up an argument that could capture the very hearts and minds of the rapt audience, and the ability to lie with just enough of the truth to make it real enough to get past even Neji. Now Kiba really didn't like her. Yes, he was attracted to her. She was a highly attractive female of about his age. No, that did not mean he trusted or even liked her in the slightest. His family had always said that if there were two people you couldn't trust, it was cats and lawyers. Kiba was sure now that he didn't have the whole story, so he'd try to pry it out of her after the public spectacle his captains were being forced to make of themselves.

The arena was crowded, mostly with disbelievers. And who could blame them for not believing? This was Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji about to humiliate themselves by singing karaoke in front of all of their colleagues, subordinates, and superiors. Not to mention Neji's ex-sensei, who was crying 'manly' tears at his student's 'exhibition of youthful vigor', and at that point everyone stopped listening. The attention was all on the two very unhappy looking men about to sing a duet for a song that wasn't of their choosing. Kiba guessed that both Sasuke and Neji were regretting not betting money on their last gamble, and he was willing to bet his favorite collar that neither captain ever gambled again.

Song lyrics drifted out over the captive audience, supplemented by two rich voices that hovered somewhere between tenor and baritone. Kiba, who had very sensitive ears, could very well appreciate that both captains were very perfectly on key.

_These prison gates won't open up for me_

_On these hands and knees I'm crawling_

_Oh, I reach for you_

_Come please, I'm callin'_

Interesting song, Kiba mused, actually managing to mentally picture the lyrics matching up to the captains' personal histories. It was a song he heard on the radio all the time, 'Savin' Me', by a band called Nickelback, and he quite enjoyed it, though he'd never thought it applied to the two captains before.

_Well I'm terrified of these four walls_

_These iron bars can't hold my soul in…_

Well that was a definite Neji line right there. Wasn't he always preaching about being a caged bird? Kiba was amazed at the connections he'd never made before. He leaned forward in the spectator seat he'd found, intent on seeing the extent of the perfection in this song.

_These city walls ain't got no love for me_

_I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story_

_And all I see is you_

_Hurry I'm fallin'_

Kiba smirked. It was perfect for Sasuke too. It was true that Konoha really held no love for the Uchiha anymore, with the exception of a handful of people who had never given up hope on the man when he had, some years ago, betrayed Konoha and joined Orochimaru for power. Sasuke was possibly the only person currently in Konoha that Kiba trusted less than Neko.

_Show me what it's like_

_To be the last one standing_

_And teach me wrong from right_

_And I'll show you what I can be_

_Say it for me, say it to me_

_And I'll leave this life behind me_

_Say it if it's worth savin' me_

_Hurry, I'm fallin'_

Ha, Neji and Sasuke were always the ones who needed examples to know the general definition of right from wrong when they were genin. During that first chunin exam, Neji had nearly killed Hinata in the preliminaries, simply because he was confused, and hated what was confusing him. Thanks to Naruto, though, Hyuga had had some sense beaten into him, and while he still wasn't nice, he was much more tolerable.

The song finally came to a close, and, to the wild cheers of the audience, Neji and Sasuke marched off the stage, having paid their debt to Tsunade. Kiba could practically hear their teeth grinding from his seat, nearly fifty yards away.

Kiba and Neko left the arena after that as well, the former wondering if there were any missions for an ANBU squad to go on, and the latter wondering if she would get hurt for congratulating the captains on their wonderful singing voices. Both got their answers when they happened across both captains in question back in the ANBU office.

"I…" Kiba started, but Neko cut him off with a friendly compliment to the singing abilities of two people she hadn't known had it in them to sing at all. Neko, in turn, was cut off as two tempers simultaneously snapped and she found herself on the floor, wondering who had hit her where.

"I was wondering if ANBU had any missions," Kiba finished, making sure that he wasn't within striking range of either potential assailant.

"No," Neji replied, his tone cold enough to freeze acid. Kiba wisely shut up after that and let Neji go on about his business without further interruption on his part. Sasuke had already gone, and now Kiba was alone in the corridor with a bleeding Neko.

"Ow," Neko groaned, wobbling to her feet. Her nose was broken and bloodied, and her shoulder felt as if it might have been dislocated. "Yeah, Deji's dice alright. Bastard broke by dose!"

"Don't be silly. Sasuke broke your nose. Neji just closed one of your chakra points. You'll be fine once we go see Hinata at the hospital. She's a medic and can fix your nose up so you don't bleed all over the corridor. You're making a mess," Kiba told her, dragging her along towards the hospital.

The nice lady at the hospital's front desk looked up with concern at the sheer amount of blood Neko was managing to drip all over the place. Alarm was written all over her features as she quickly spouted the phrase, "Exam room 309, Hinata should be doing paperwork."

Sick and injured people were obviously in no condition to be navigating anything complicated, so why the hospital had to be a bloody labyrinth was a mystery. Kiba finally picked up Hinata's scent amidst all the other confusing smells that made him hate hospitals, and that was how he and Neko finally found Exam 309. Akamaru and Tomoru politely waited outside the room as Kiba pushed a very dizzy Neko ahead of him.

"Oh my, what happened?" Hinata demanded, her childhood stutter not in evidence.

"Sasuke and Neji happened," Kiba replied, smirking. "No, your precious cousin's not responsible for all the blood, if that's what you're worried about."

Hinata could talk while she worked, and did just that as she healed Neko's nose. "No, I figured Neji was too much of a clean freak to risk getting blood on his floor. And I'm not surprised they lashed out, after the spectacle Tsunade made of them."

Kiba could remember listening to Hinata's attempts at talking back when they were genin teammates, when she stuttered so bad that no one could understand her. Now that she had no reason to stutter, she was very easily understood. She was always polite, but sometimes that politeness felt like a mask for something rude that she wanted to say, but wouldn't.

Hinata re-opened the chakra point in Neko's shoulder that Neji had closed, and the sensation of dislocation went away. Neko thanked Hinata profusely before she and Kiba said their goodbyes and went on their way.

"Nice woman," Neko remarked as she and Kiba meandered down the street with no particular destination in mind. Neko still needed an apartment of her own, and Kiba figured he knew just the place.

"Oh, Hinata? Yeah, she's possibly the nicest person in Konoha. She was on my team when we were genin, along with a guy named Aburame Shino. I had a crush on her for the longest time, before I realized that first of all, she was too deeply in love with Naruto and I wasn't the man to make her happy, and second of all, Neji was going to kill me if I didn't stop trying to win his cousin's heart."

"You and your captain seem almost like friends now," Neko pointed out, looking around the apartment complex that happened to be along the way.

"We came to one of those mutual, unspoken understandings," Kiba replied. "I stop chasing after Hinata, and Neji stops trying to kill me. So, now, Hinata's just my teammate and very good friend, and Neji, well, we have our moments. Now, here's an apartment you could try for a few months, at least. They accept cats"

**Author's Other Note: BloodHeron apologizes for the late update. She is in and out of the doctor's office rather often now, and will only update when she can work around her eye problems, her homework, and her dog trying to nose her hands away from the keyboard. Please remember that BloodHeron would like to know of any improvements she can make. Do you, the reader, want longer chapters? Shorter chapters? More romance and less action? Less romance and more action? Or do you want Heron to just follow the plot bunny where the bunny beckons? Please do tell BloodHeron anything you would like her to throw into this story, and if she can make it fit, she will. BloodHeron also loves her reviewers, even if they're flamers, as long as the flamers are polite. Rude ones will be laughed at, but their suggestions shall also be taken into consideration. And please do tell, what do you think of Neko and Tomoru?**

**(BTW: Neko means cat, significant to Neko's feline mannerisms, and Tomoru means Burning, significant of the cat's coloration)**

**Oh, yeah, one more thing...**

**DISCLAIMER: The song 'Savin' Me' belongs to the band Nickelback. BloodHeron is a harmless fan who is not profiting from this except to have fun applying the song to Masashi Kishimoto's characters.**

**Eh heh, sorry, Heron forgot that little bit right there, almost. Which would have been bad. **

**Uh, please review?**


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